Path of Kane

L’longa visits the heroes during their sleep, letting them know that a new adventurer will be joining them on their mission. It is early dawn, when Jacquelines de Fleur arrives at the inn, looking for the heroes. She keeps a secret, but is immediately accepted by the adventurers.

Ziva wakes up in the morning, it seems that Lady Melville’s nightly visit of the hanged man was only a dream. However, she remains suspicious. William learns, that the heart of the hanged man was removed during the night. Ziva has a strong feeling, where the heart might be, and she quickly goes through Lady Melville’s belongings and finds some strange-looking herbs. They confront Lady Melville with the facts, but she confesses, that all she was after, were some mandrake roots, which are very rare and grow only under hanged men. They accept her explanation.

When visiting the old womans body in the gibbet in the outer city at the docks, they are asked by locals to find the monster, who preys upon people in the night. They take a look at the last victims body: his torso is mutilated by something non-human beast, altough his heart is not missing. The murders started after the which in the gibbet ripped up her veins with her own hands, and cursed the people: “I will have revenge by my blood”. Jacqulines examines the location, and finds blood trails, leading to the sewers. Olaf decides that they will return by nightfall to patrol the streets.

Shorty after nighfall, they hear a scream and find a wounded man in his house, whose daughter was dragged off by the monster. By the magical light of Williams sword Jacqulines is able to track down the monsters path, that leads to the sewers. It is there, where they encounter a giant rat, mutated by the witches cursed blood, that ran to the sewers. The little girl is safe and unharmed. After a quick fight, the rat-monster is no more.

Arriving back at the inn, they hear cries and strange noises. The door of the inn is torn off, the stairs are damaged, like something big and heavy had made his way through. Ziva runs to their room, to stop the “witch” whatever she is doing, only to see a surprised Lady Melville in her bed. The others however encounter a huge metallic man-like construct in the innkeepers sons room, trying to crush the hero of the town to death. After a long an seemingly inefficient fight, William spots the constructs weak spot: his heart. They need three well-aimed attack to finally put the machine to rest, while dodging its crushing blows: Jacqulines survives the fight only with incredible luck.

The innkeepers son is barely alive, he is rushed to the inner city for medical aid. Meanwhile the heroes pay a visit to the mechanic, whom they remember back from their entrance to Northampton. The man is badly injured, his own construct wounded him after awakening to life with the help of the hanged mans heart. After Ziva overcomes her urge to kill off the mechanic, they leave the man to his fate. Ziva however steals a few shillings from the mechanics desk, and refuses to leave the money, despite Williams will. “You are no heroes, you are not better then any of us”, shouts the man, as they are leaving.

Back at the inn Ziva tries her best to apologize to Lady Melville for her bad judgement and for calling her a witch. But deep in her heart she is not completely convinced.

On their way to London through a muddy, misty mountain forest, with the rain pouring since days, with no end in sight, the adventurers encounter a bloody fight: four man try to capture or kill a young woman. Her hired blade is killed during the fight, and also three of the attackers. The fourth is knocked out for questioning. However, he has to be left behind because the wounded and unconscious lady needs urgent medical attention.

During their arrival in Northampton the heroes see a dead woman in a gibbet in the dock area, and a hanged man. They get news of a miraculous healer, and visit the man, who cures Lady Melville with his bare hands. The heroes also see a strange man, who is trying to give life to a metal-figure, buth with no success. Williams blunderbuss needs to be repaired, it will take three days of work for the local weaponsmith.

Lady Melville is doing better, however Olaf is told, that the cured patients of the healer get even sicker after a few days, and they eventually die. It turns out, the religious healer (once a forester) got his powers from an angel in the woods. The heroes find the statue in the forest and after Olaf resists to the temptation of the “angel”, they slay the succubus in a rapid fight. However, with her last words she threatens them with revenge by her offspring.

When they arrive at the healers place once again, they witness how he “gives birth” to the succubus’ son, to a horrendous plague demon, which – surprise-surprise – they have to kill. They burn the body and save the foresters life, who is bleeding heavily. In the end, it is left to the townsfolk to deal with the consequences.

After arriving back to the inn, they learn of the story of the hanged man. He was a child-killer, unveiled and wounded by the son of the innkeeper, before hanged by the people for good. The young man is celebrated as a local hero.

Ziva awakens during the night when Lady Melville leaves their room. She follows her outside of the inn, only to see her standing in front of the hanged man, with a knife in her hands…

Savage Tale: The Sin of the Father
A curse of a witch tortures the villagers of Berkleyham: those who sin get brutally mutilated during the night. The people speak of devils in the dark, while the new reverend preaches of repentanence and the punishment of the Lord. It turns out, he was cursed and not the village, but he made a pact with the Imps, who are brought here by the curse of the witch: they spare his life, but they can prey on villagers who have sinned. The wanderers kill the imps when they appear in the church during the nightly sermon, but not before they mutilate the reverend for his sins. Olaf kills the reverend to end his misery and to bring justice upon him.

Savage Tale: The Dark Side of Love – part two
After missing the opportunity at the last young girls funeral, the wanderers meet and capture an outlaw in the graveyard, who has information about the graverobbings. An old doctor pays men to bring him fresh female corpses to his mansion in the hills. The wanderer meet dr Hapgood before his creation, a horrendous abomination stitched together from various bodyparts kills him. It seems he tried to bring his wife back from the dead using some black magic. Ultimately the wanderers slay the monster in a tough fight.

Savage Tale: Deal with the Devils
The abandoned village of Uptown has a horrible secret. And also a weak-minded, evil innkeper, who let the goblins from below the earth prey on travelers, and later on townsfolk. The wanderers descend into the caverns and fight the goblin king and his minions, but Ziva is badly wounded. They discover an altar behind a wooden door with a strange sign of an iron ring.

Interlude: Web of the Spider
The wanderers rescue a man from a Giant Spider in the woods. The magister from Leicester invites them to his mansion in the city, and asks for a few favors.

Savage Tale: The Organ Grinder
A dutch doctor is preying on whores and beggars in the South Riding district of Leicester, killing them and shipping their bodies and body parts to Amsterdam. The sorcerer doctor is confronted in his warehouse, but can escape, leaving back reanimated zombies and creeping hands for the wanderers to kill.

Savage Tale: The Dark Side of Love – part one
The wanderers investigate graverobbings in the northern graveyard of Leicester, where young female corpses are disappearing shortly after the burials. They connect the case to the dutch doctor first, but a new body is stolen the same night they chase the sorcerer away.